


V

by Kyni, OrphielBurrito



Series: Of time and universes [5]
Category: Doctor Who, Doctor Who & Related Fandoms, Doctor Who (1963), Doctor Who (2005)
Genre: Angst, Fix-it fic, Horror, Other, Violence
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-08-19
Updated: 2017-08-20
Packaged: 2018-12-17 09:47:24
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 3
Words: 2,935
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11849028
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Kyni/pseuds/Kyni, https://archiveofourown.org/users/OrphielBurrito/pseuds/OrphielBurrito
Summary: The Doctor promised spectacular, and spectacular it was. Everything falls into place, or almost - and darkness finally has a face.Of time and universes pt. 5





	1. Spectacular

The Doctor had promised spectacular.

Spectacular it was. Where a crowd of rockers should have stood, dancing to the incredible rhythms of _The Sonics_ , there was nothing. Not a sound save for the wind blowing on an arid land where nothing could ever grow again, not a soul to be seen. Even insects seemed to have deserted the planet, scurrying off to a more peaceful place. Through pale yellow clouds shone a Sun that had lost its power and could barely warm the surface enough.

The Earth looked as if a war had destroyed all of its surface. But it wasn't possible, was it ? Earth, 1966. Earth was still very much existing at this point in time. The Master knew that well, since he had attempted to rule it and eradicate humankind several times afterwards. There had been no grand war that could have caused the planet to turn into such a wasteland. Maybe it was just this portion of the world... for a second, the Master clung to that hope.

“Doctor... what have you done ?”

The frail creature turned towards him, a detestable grin on their face. Their hands were clasped behind their back and they stood so calmly and seemingly unfazed by the destruction around them. That was wrong, even wronger than the wasteland around them. The Doctor should not have been so calm and _smiling_ in front of their favourite planet turned to dust.

“What have I done ? Tss, my dear Master, how foolish of you to think I would be so careless as to give away everything... but considering everything we shared, I will let you in a little secret – I prevented the world wars. A massive improvement, don't you think ?

\- You messed with a fixed point. You know what happens when you mess with a fixed point.

\- Well, yes. This.” They gestured at the wasteland around them. Still no reaction other than that smile, that dreadful smile that wouldn't leave their lips and wouldn't move an inch. Perhaps it was just an illusion but their eyes seemed clearer as if the green of the irises had bled into the sclera, giving the impression that the needle-sized pupil was all that was left. Even their lips that were usually so red had blemished and they were now colourless. Black and white, slender as a spider and probably far more dangerous.

“I can help you, Doctor. Just say it. Just ask me to fix it. Look at what you've done to yourself !”

No humans after the wars... that meant no companions. No one to change them, no one to stop them. What did it mean exactly ? What on Earth had they become ? Was it already like that before, was it all planned ? He remembered everything that he had thought was wrong, all the tiny things that he had decided to forget before and that started to make some sense. Everything had been slowly unraveling from the moment they had regenerated.

“There is nothing to _fix._ You aren't the fixing kind anyway... And you know, this is technically all your fault.

\- The  _one time_ I didn't do  _anything,_ it's  _my_ fault ?

\- Yes, my dear. You predicted me. A long time ago... How did it go ? Ah, yes, a distillation of all that is evil inside the Doctor... raising at their weakest to seize their body... Something like that.”

The grin became wider and more frightening. The Master recoiled. No. No, it couldn't possibly be. He remembered this trial long ago where he had saved his old friend against all odds, surprising everyone including himself. Saved them from... well, technically, themself.

“Of course, I looked a bit different when we met. This body should not have happened at all but I guess... Well, I guess I'm stuck looking like this fancy-haired idiot now, aren't I?” The creature did a small pirouette and let out a laugh – the worst laugh he'd ever heard. “Why this gloomy face, my dear? Oh, you thought the Doctor truly _loved_ you? I'm surprised you could think anyone could love this pathetic excuse for a Time Lord that you've become. Look at you, so weak, begging for help, wasting your intelligence on learning tango... You were so easy to manipulate. You had been craving for their love and attention for so long, just giving you a flicker of it was enough to use you. I got you right where I wanted you.”

No.  _No._

The Master raised his laser screwdriver, facing the creature that he used to think was the Doctor. But it wasn't, it had never been. The thing in front of him was infinitely worse. He had met them for the first time during a trial, many decades ago, and had learnt their name then. A name shrouded with mystery that should never have been spoken. No one knew exactly what had created this thing and how it could possibly exist and even if the Master had encountered them before, even if he had maybe more information on them than anyone else, he still didn't know what they were, nor how to destroy them. Perhaps there was no way to destroy such complete darkness and it would forever linger on somewhere in the depths of the Doctor's mind. Perhaps it had always been there.

The Valeyard.

If the Doctor had already a rather high potential for destruction, this creature was what would bring the whole universe to its end. And the Master realized in the fraction of a second that despite everything, he still didn't want that. He wanted to live and to fight, he wanted to destroy and rule and have fun. What would have been the point of surviving on Gallifrey if it was to die so soon and go extinct with the rest of the universe?

But more importantly – he wanted the Doctor back.

“I will stop you.

\- Oh, adorable. You, the nice guy of the story ? How can you even think I will let you ?”

They raised their arm – their silly sonic screwdriver. But a screwdriver, however sonic it was, remained a screwdriver. Have you ever planted a screwdriver in someone's nose and twisted it until you reached their brain? Or in their stomach, perhaps? For a screwdriver was in essence capable of screwing and damaging internal organs easily, and even moreso when it could mess the electric signals – waves, just like sound – that the brain would send.

In between his screams of pain, the Master could hear the Valeyard musing about how internal organs were so weak.

 


	2. Salvation

Lucky had materialized around the Master just in time, triggered by the emergency system he had put in place. The Valeyard may have been incredibly dangerous and ruthless, they were still not much more advance technology-wise than the Doctor was and the Master smiled hearing them roar at him as he was taking off. They hadn't even envisioned the possibility that his ship could come to his rescue which meant he still had a bit of an advantage. Could his knowledge of TARDISes and technology in general help? It was the only bet he could take.

“ _Master!”_ Lucky's scream distracted him from the controls. It wasn't easy with just one heart beating. The screwdriver had done its damage already – but he would survive. He was the Master of survival. He _had_ to survive. _“Master, we need to take Sexy with us. Please, we can't leave her with this thing.”_ The Cloister Bell from the other TARDIS was ringing so loudly that the Master could hear it over the sound of his ship taking off. If she was willing to ask him for help after what he had done to her... how terrified of the Valeyard was she? What could they do to her that would be worse than turning her into a paradox machine?

“I'm sorry, Lucky, we can't afford the risk. If we take her in tow, the Valeyard will just cling to her. I'm sorry.” The Master knew how cruel that decision would sound to the two ships, even though they both knew that he was right.

There wasn't much time. It wouldn't take long for the Valeyard to bring chaos to the universe and have their _fun_ with every single form of life around. They were not very different from the Doctor in the end and much like his old friend, they would do anything to entertain themself, with the major difference that the Doctor had always at least pretended to be good. The Valeyard didn't bother trying to convince themself that they were doing what was right. They had obtained what the Doctor had always wanted: freedom, complete freedom – even from their own principles.

How silly he had been to think that he wanted the Doctor to be bad with him, to join him on the “dark side”, to quit being his nemesis to become his ally. If he didn't stand a chance against them when they were good, how could he think he could fight them when they were not ?

He still didn't care about people dying and planets being destroyed – not really, not too much anyway; he had certainly not gone soft. However, he knew that the Doctor would never survive facing their own potential for horror. And the Doctor couldn't possibly die.

Because a universe without the Doctor scarcely bore thinking about.

Everything made so much more sense now. The Valeyard had gone back through their own timeline to bring them both exactly to this point in 1966. They had rescued the Doctor from their stream, arranged for the Master's meeting with a companion that would soften him then for his capture by the Cybermen that would force him to regenerate, leaving him emotionless and desperate to regain some sort of feeling. They had even given him a regeneration – taken from where? That remained a mystery, one that he didn't have time to solve. He had to admit that the Valeyard was right on one point: he had been easy to manipulate. Or maybe they were just bloody fantastic at that game.

He could see their trace as they were hopping from time point to time point, interfering to make things happen exactly the way they wanted to, leaving tiny scars everywhere without a care in the world for the risks they were taking.

They had been there all along. Waiting in the dark, hiding behind the shadows, an evil grin on their face as they were planning their reveal. Much like a ghost lurking and waiting for its moment to inspire terror in the hearts of those it had decided to haunt; except the Valeyard was more of a demon.

The Master couldn't quite believe that the person he had held so close, this person who smelled like honey and tasted like vanilla, could have been the Valeyard all along. That they could have pretended the whole thing, the snuggles, the nights spent touching so closely, the kisses. The thing could probably shield its mind well enough for him to never notice something was off but... he refused to believe that. If the Valeyard thought they had made him vulnerable by making him _care,_ they were deadly wrong.

The screen suddenly lit up, showing the image of the Valeyard driving the reluctant Doctor's TARDIS, serene despite the ship's attempt to throw them out. The world was shaking around them and random things were exploding or trying to electrocute them but they remained stable, smiling, unfazed by everything their ship was throwing at them.

“What do you think you're doing, little man? Saving the world?”

They made it sound just as preposterous as it was. The Master did not save the world, he destroyed it or took control over it, shaped it to turn it into what he desired. This time, however, he recognized that the universe faced a bigger threat than he was... and he didn't like that very much.

“You know, that's why I engineered the whole Chameleon Arch incident,” continued the Valeyard, speaking in the same soft voice they had used when they were pretending to be the Doctor. “To make you save the world and realize you absolutely can't. You're like me, my dear, you're evil, except I'm actually good at it. Mind-control using puppies... How ridiculous. But tell me, my _darling,_ do you think they'll forgive you? Even if you succeed... will they forgive you?”

He decided to cut all communication channels. He couldn't afford being distracted while working – especially not by horrors that rang so true.

 


	3. Change

Early humans had been easy to influence. The Valeyard just had to show up during their early history, perform a few “miracles” and all of these pathetic apes bought the lie they were selling as if their life depended on it. Their image of the Devil was quite different to what an alternate future would know: their Devil looked like a tall man with dark hair and their god, well... their god had the face of a frail scrawny thing. Humans would kill the Master on sight if he dared show his face on _their_ playground. Now, to take care of his.

Drinking tea over the ruins of the Master's fan-planet, they pondered their next move. So much to do. The Doctor had always been a chaotic person, always ready to jump into adventure if only it was _fun_ and they weren't any different. They were just stripped of their misguided desire to do good. What the Doctor called good anyway... it was simply deluded. They were so convinced that they were doing the right thing when they were no different from the Master, trying over and over again to impose their rules on the universe. But as they liked to say, what was the point of ruling? This universe was doomed anyway. And nobody would want to rule over such despicable creatures, none of them reaching even their little toe when it came to intelligence or power. The Doctor thought that too. They wouldn't admit that, no, but they thought that too. They saw humans and other aliens as merely toys to play with, pets to entertain them. It was more than time for them to face their own truth.

They felt the first disturbances soon after. The Master was trying to change the timeline again... Oh, but he was selecting the events well. He didn't keep the Valeyard from rescuing the previous incarnation of the Doctor from the timestream nor to make them crash near him. Silly little thing. He still hoped that there was something to salvage from this relationship that had never existed. They almost felt his desire under their tongue, his need to hold the Doctor tight and never let them go... And for a while, he had thought that he had finally obtained what he had spent so many centuries chasing after. No wonder he couldn't let it go.

They even felt him opening the rift again just to talk to his previous self, to warn this version of the Master about them. That was how the Master had known who they were during the Doctor's trial... Interesting. There was at least one change that he had done to the timeline that had persisted throughout the universes and the various modifications. That didn't fare well.

Nevertheless, the Valeyard had laid enough traps in time that it would make his work difficult or even... lethal. Maybe he would fall into the rift again and go back to Gallifrey where he would be endlessly tortured and punished for having dared to escape. That would be fun, if somewhat disappointing – they had hoped to be the one to enact the horror and the pain. The Master was their favourite toy, after all, and for that he had earned the privilege to be the last one they would touch.

They could just wait. They had all the time in the world.

Or maybe not.

“You've made the same mistake as the Cybermen,” announced the Master on speakers. “You thought emotions would make me weak and vulnerable, didn't you ? That I wouldn't dare destroying you because of the Doctor ?

\- You're very well aware that this body, my body, cannot regenerate. So what are you going to do ? Lose your best friend forever ? You can't kill me.

\- No. I never talked about killing you. And you are right, I won't kill them. I had the occasion to do so several times already.

\- And you were too weak to seize it. You've really gone soft with age, darling.

\- Because I won't let you deprive me of my victory against the Doctor? Don't kid yourself. There are many ways to win other than killing them.”

The Valeyard's smile widened again and they leaned forward towards their microphone, turning their voice into an obscene purr.

“Now you're becoming interesting. I like that. Tell me, darling... what exactly are you going to do?

\- I've pinpointed when you appeared. The exact moment when you sprouted up from the Doctor's subconscious and took over.”

They recoiled, surprised by his words. What in the Other's name? How could he have figured that out and so quickly? Their face blemished and they frantically danced around the console, trying their hardest to avoid what was to come.

“Guess what, Valeyard?”

The main screen of the control room lit up, stopping them dead in their tracks. Their brow furrowed and their teeth clenched, they stared at the smirking figure of the Master.

“I, too, can change timelines. Guess we'll never dance tango.”

He blew them a kiss and disappeared as they screamed, feeling time change around them.

 


End file.
